19 Sep 2016

 The leader of the opposition, Mr Duma Boko and the leader of Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD), Mr Ndaba Gaolathe met with BMC management to appreciate the challenges and deliberate on issues of concern in Lobatse on September 14.

In an interview, Mr Boko said their visit was to understand the environment and challenges within the organisation, and how best they could be assisted as well as offer any intervention they may need.

He said as law makers they were available to help them ease the burden they may encounter in order to assist them to make the organisation more profitable and efficient to the country as a meat industry.

Of the many challenges the BMC face, Mr Boko said the main issue was the need for regulation of the meat industry. He said the regulator would assist redefine and reconfigure roles of various players in the industry including BMC, adding that they would better serve and access markets that bring in profits as well as assist in the  growth of the cattle industry in the country.

He also said there was need to review the BMC Act, adding that there was also need to look at the facilities that BMC was operating from and establish whether there could be any possibility of decoupling the Lobatse institution from the Francistown and Maun facilities. 

He said there should a best possible model to make BMC profitable and most importantly empowering small farmers.

Mr Boko also said the regulator would ultimately empower communal farmers who provide most requirements of BMC. He noted that communal farmers need protection and that their empowerment should be seen to be playing an active role in the governance of the meat industry.

Mr Boko further said BMC should engage with the public on the issues and debate freely and openly so that they find the best possible solutions to approach issues at hand.

BMC CEO, Dr Akolang Tombale said in an industry like BMC one, there was need to have a regulatory body. 

He indicated that the regulatory body would ultimately answer concerns raised of liberalising BMC, and that it would be the one deciding whether Botswana needs one entity as an exporter or multiple.

He said they would not want to do it in a way that there was over capacity as it has been evident in other neighbouring countries such as Namibia and Kenya which took that step of liberalising without a regulator in place in the beginning.

Dr Tombale said it was critical for the industry to have a regulator as that would not only protect farmers, but also protect the market as there would be compliance.

He said there was need to refurbish the Lobatse BMC plant which he said was an old plant constructed in the 1950’s. ENDS